Inside each cell is a structure known as mitochondria which means “little bean”. It is appropriately named because that is exactly what they look like, tiny bean shaped energy factories inside every one of the body’s cells converting the food we eat into energy. When the food we consume is combined with oxygen this fuel mixture is used to run every system and process in our body.
Since fat is part of the food that they convert, our mitochondria need tip-top “fitness” working fast and efficiently if we are going to burn off excess body fat A single cell may have anywhere from 200-2000 or more mitochondria.
The hardest working cells such as those in the heart, liver or muscles contain the greatest number. Without these little powerhouses doing their job, you would not be able to breathe much less walk out your front door.
Simply put they are responsible for keeping you alive…a pretty important job!
The rate at which your mitochondria transform food and oxygen into energy is called your metabolic rate. This is basically the speed at which your body’s engine is running and is determined by two factors:
- The number of mitochondria you have and how efficiently they burn oxygen and calories.
The more mitochondria you have, the more efficiently they consume oxygen, the faster your metabolic rate the easier it is for your body to burn calories and the more energy you will have.
Mitochondria of the cells listen to and respond to the metabolic signals that you send them…or more likely that you fail to send them. This process is happening every 15-20 minutes all day long…not just once a week or even once a day.
These little powerhouses await your signals and depending on what signals they receive in the way of proper nutrition and exercise, you’ll either fire them up which results in cell and tissue growth and renewal or dampen them down like a fire that has run out of fuel.
Obviously good things happen when they fire up. However, when they dampen down or if they are extinguished altogether, the cells shift toward body fat storage or fatigue…under producing energy and lapsing into disuse.
Any buildup of toxins in your body will seriously affect your body weight and ultimately your health. The last thing anyone wants to hear that is struggling to lose weight is that there is something floating around in your body preventing you from burning those unwanted pounds of body fat but that is exactly what toxins can do. Studies going back more than thirty years indicate that such toxins can hinder the efficiency of your fat-burning system.
Mitochondria and metabolism are vital to human biology and physiology. Mitochondria dysfunction is a mark of highly prevalent diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and degenerative diseases as well as obesity, epilepsy, psychiatric illness and autism. Not only that, but dysfunction of mitochondria can greatly disturb and perturb metabolism.
Understanding the role mitochondria plays in maintaining health and stabilizing our weight is just a portion of the problem we’re dealing with in weight loss resistance.
“Rebound Free Weight Loss” will get your mindset and your body healthy first so that you can lose weight and keep it off forever!
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